15 juveniles charged in explosive device incident

Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department investigators have charged 15 Herndon and Chantilly juveniles with the manufacture and use of fire bombs.

According to fire investigators, all 15 youths were arrested Feb. 5 and charged with the manufacture, possession and use of fire bombs or explosive materials or devices.

Police say the charges stem from an incident about 9:15 p.m. Dec. 14, 2012, on a neighborhood playground in the 3200 block of Kinross Circle in Herndon.

The Fairfax County Police Department, including the bomb squad responded to the incident.

Police said they rendered one of the unexploded devices, a plastic two-liter bottle filled with a chemical liquid, safe at the scene.

Police said the explosive devices caused no injuries or property damage.

Woman attacked in Reston

On Jan. 29 in Reston, a 31-year-old woman reported to police she was attacked about 7 p.m. while walking along the Washington & Old Dominion trail.

Police said the woman was on the trail near the overpass for Herndon Parkway — not far from the Town of Herndon Police department — when she noticed a man following her. She continued walking to Sunset Hills Road, where the woman said she was then dragged off of the path into a wooded area by the man.

Police said she struggled with her attacker, and he eventually fled north onto a gravel horse trail. The woman did not require medical attention, they reported.

Police have withheld some facts about the suspect but describe him as heavy set, about 25 years old, clean shaven and with short, black hair. They said the woman was unsure of his height and ethnicity but that he was wearing glasses, a dark jacket and dark jeans.

Robbery in Mount Eagle Park

Police are investigating a strong-arm robbery that occurred in the Mount Vernon area Feb. 4. Police said shortly after 7:30 a.m., a 23-year-old woman was walking through Mount Eagle Park, between Richmond Highway and Huntington Avenue when she was allegedly assaulted by a man.

Police said the man struck the woman and took cash and property from her.

He then fled on foot, according to police. The woman was transported to a local hospital with non life-threatening injuries.

Police described the man as black, in his mid-20s, 5 feet 10 inches to 6 feet 2 inches tall, weighing between 190 and 210 pounds and wearing a black hoodie.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Fairfax County Police at 703-691-2131.

Maryland man convicted of armed truck robbery in Fairfax

Khalil Kenyon Blackman, 31, of District Heights, Md. was convicted Feb. 5 of conspiring to commit three armed robberies of truck drivers who were delivering Apple products to area stores, including one in Fairfax.

Blackman was convicted of conspiracy to commit robbery, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years, and brandishing a firearm, which carries a mandatory minimum of seven years and a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. Sentencing is scheduled for April 26, 2013.

According to court records and evidence at trial, Blackman and others conspired to carry out three armed robberies of delivery truck drivers hauling Apple electronics products.

Records state Feb. 11, 2011, Blackman and his co-conspirators robbed a delivery truck driver in Prince George’s County, Md. Thereafter, Blackman took the majority of the products and sold them to another person and then distributed the proceeds among his conspirators.

Blackman also conspired with others to carry out two other robberies — June 15, 2011, in Fairfax, and October 30, 2011, in Prince George’s County — and sold the stolen products from these robberies to others for the benefit of the conspirators. Police said the total loss to Apple was more than $130,000.

The investigation was conducted by FBI’s Washington Field Office and the Fairfax County Police Department.

Electrical panel causes house fire

Fairfax County firefighters responded to a house fire about 2:15 p.m. Feb. 1 in the Pohick area of Fairfax County, where they later said an electrical panel was responsible for a house that burned to the ground.

The single family home was in the 8200 block of Morning Dew Court.

Firefighters said they encountered heavy smoke and fire coming from the bottom level and through the roof of the two-story split level home upon their arrival.

Firefighters encountered strong and gusty winds while conducting an aggressive fire attack. A second alarm was called due to the heavy wind conditions and the rapid spreading of fire, bringing more than 60 firefighters to the emergency scene. Fire officials said all occupants escaped the home unharmed. Two adults and two children have been displaced. A contractor working in the home sustained non-life threatening injuries and was transported to the Washington Hospital Burn Center. Firefighters rescued six dogs but said a seventh dog perished in the fire.

The home was complete loss. An adjacent home received minor fire damage to the siding.